I saw you, Lorna, and you looked grand. I did grow weary of the sand-colored sets and costumes, and that substitute baritone should stick to accounting, but that's all I have to quibble about. Easily the best simulcast yet. Gheorghiu is going to have one helluva time following that Carmen.

Do you know what I would like to hear Garanca sing? Dalila. Garanca has these great chest tones, and Dalila has a couple of, er, chesty arias; it should be a perfect match. Time for a revival of that potboiler anyway.

I liked the pas de deux at the beginning and during the Entr'acte...that was a good idea. Some of the kids in the children's chorus were really having fun, and that was fun to watch. Alagna gave The Flower Song his all, and the audience appreciated it. But what can you say about Garanca? She's the perfect Carmen. Perfect.

Oh, he turned in a serviceable enough "Toreador Song", but by the time he reached the little bit he sings in the last act ("Si tu m'aimes, Carmen..."), he sounded as if he was gargling. Not a long-distance runner.

I didn't hear or see it, so I'm not commenting on the actual performances. But Teddy Tahu Rhodes is actually quite a coup to be able to snag for a last-minute replacement: he has a substantial career going, and I remember him being a strong Ned Keene in the Peter Grimes simulcast. No doubt the attention he gets is partly due to his looks and physique, but I think there's a real vocal and musical-dramatic gift there.

Now, it may well be that he didn't do himself justice in this performance, or that the role isn't suited to his voice (it's oddly unsuited to almost any bass or baritone who isn't José van Dam). I can't speak to that, I wasn't there.

Vinay (born 1912) actually made his debut as a baritone in 1931, singing Rigoletto, Scarpia, etc. In 1943 he started singing tenor roles - Don José, Otello, etc., also Tristan, Parsifal, Tannhäuser and Siegmund at Bayreuth. Then in 1962 he went back to baritone - Telramund at Bayreuth, Falstaff, Dr Bartolo(!), Falstaff and Iago. Harold Rosenthal in Opera Grove says "his artistry, intelligence and musicianship were always in evidence", which I guess includes his late baritone roles.

It'll be interesting to see if Domingo the baritone, also a famous Otello of course, emulates Vinay by singing Iago!